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Sunday, September 19, 2010

My Page 23

I am reading a new book...."Sun Stand Still" by our pastor..Steven Furtick. I am not even to the half-way point yet, so I do not think this post will be conclusive or maybe even cohesive. Just roll with it. I want to get some thoughts about the book down while they are fresh. I am 32 now....and with age comes....mmm...what's that word??? Oh yea...dementia. :)

The Sun Stand Still book is based off of Joshua Chapter 10. There are a couple key verses that he points out in the book but if you read Joshua 10 you will get the idea. Pretty much, Joshua was battling the enemy and knew that if it got dark that he would lose some people. They would flee and hide. If that happened, the battle wouldn't be done. He needed to conquer EVERY enemy. After all, God had told him...in verse 8..."Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." NOT ONE OF THEM. Well, Joshua was probably a very literal person (something that stands true to the male population around our homes these days) and didn't want to let any of them get away. So he prays..."O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley Of Aijalon." (verse 12)

The amazing part comes in after verse 12. Verse 13 and 14 read: "The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since....Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!"

I want to be like Joshua. I want to pray prayers that are equivalent to his sun stand still prayer and pray them in confidence that if I am in God's will, there is nothing that He cannot do. After all, he DID make the sun stand still and all....

When I first started reading the book last night and again this morning, I immediately started to think of sun stand still prayers I could pray for my life. As Pastor Steven points out, it doesn't have to be something as big as making the sun stand still. It means that you are praying, and believing, in something that is impossible for you in your life. It may be easy for others, but impossible for you. This is why everyones sun stand still prayers will not be the same. Well, if you know me at all, you know I am a list maker. My first inclination was to get out a brand new yellow pad and sharpie pen and start my list of sun stand still prayers. I would have the list done in minutes and praying over them just as quickly. And then it hit me. SLOW DOWN FAST MOVER FRANNIE. Keep reading first.

So I just got out a highlighter instead. :) You see, I could make a list of what the sun stand still prayers are for my life that I think are right. But what if those things that I am praying for are not the things that God wants in my life? What if it isn't His timing to work any of that out or work it out the way I want to work it out? It would then become a futile activity. I want to first pray about God's will for my life. He created me to be a vessel for Him to reach people. I can imagine, that when I finally tap into it in it's full screen HD version, it will be quite an amazing vessel! But....and this is a big but....I want to know which vessel he wants to use. Did He give me a desire to help homeless people or abused children because there is something He is planning to do through me that would rock the world of all of that? I sit around and wonder what I can do. I even put up a msg on facebook last year to do a blanket and coat drive for homeless people in my town. I got zero...ZERO...responses. But...I didn't pray about it first. I just thought it was the right thing to do. Can you imagine if God was in charge of my plan? My daydreams are now turned to how much more I could help provide if God was the one rationing out my provisions.

And what if God's plan for me has nothing to do with the above? Maybe it's something I have ignored for my 32 years. Something I've pushed to a back corner as "kind of interesting". I want to know what it is. I want to seek it out and then I want to talk to Him. After all, He will be the one in charge here. Which, by the way, will be another huge lesson for me. I am an in charge kind of person. That's why I make lists. Things that seem too big or out of control, if I write them down in a list it mentally gets them under my control. So-write it down in the history books. I am handing the reigns over. I want God to be the provider for whatever it is that He has me do. And I'm excited. I am excited to find out what it is, what He will provide me with, how it will affect me, my family, the wee little boy. (How amazing it will be to live out an audacious faith in front of an 11 year old!) It's like Christmas morning...only all the time. I never know when I will turn a corner and there will be provision for what He wants me to do then. Can you imagine the possibilities? Because I can! I may put them down on a list...lol....but that's how I daydream. HA!

As I said, I am halfway through the book so I know there will be more posts to follow. Maybe it will be a "My Page 23" series. Who knows. I don't know if I can figure all of that out on here. I am just excited to put it out there and would like for everyone reading to pray that I am able to hear and understand the words that God wants me to and hold me accountable. If it seems like I am taking the reigns from Him, smack my hand! (Nicely, please)

So here we go on a journey....of the Sun Stand Still kind....will you join me?

The book releases on Tuesday I believe. You can check it out on www.sunstandstill.org and it is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon on the release date as well. (I would have linked all of these things but I am too technologically outdated to do all of that. Sorry. )

I am a Christ following, 31 year old girl, trudging through life trying to learn to be an adult! I am my husbands girlfriend, my step-sons encourager, my dogs mom, as well as a daughter, granddaughter, friend, niece, sister, and lots more. I am learning to juggle all of these things, and along the way my Father is teaching me a lot about myself. Join me on my ride of learning lessons!

Meet Olin. He is my rock, my foundation, my grounding force, my spiritual leader, my husband, and my best friend. He is the best thing that ever happened to me. He is eternally patient with me and all of my crazy ways. For that, I am very blessed. He loves Nascar, history, politics, and his boy. He loves to teach me things and take me outside of my comfort zone. He challenges me all the time and makes me long to be a better person.

Seth

Meet our 11 year old middle schooler!!! He is becoming quite the young man! A lover of science, outdoors, movies, and snarkiness...He gets the last part from me! :) We have had big adjustments leaving elementary school this year, but none that he hasn't taken in stride and worked hard to overcome. His dad and I are so proud of him and the young man he is becoming. Our prayer is that we lay a foundation that will withstand all of the trials he is sure to face in the next few years. One thing is for sure-boys sure are a hoot to have around!